FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have the temp up to 82 so far... the 2 swords are still holding about half a dozen of the ick on them. I have been trying to raise the temp only two degrees per day as a post I had read recommended. I also have been only adding the half dose of meds because I really don't want to lose the cories and the tetras too. I went to the LFS and read the ingredients on the rid x +, seems to be the same as my quick cure. I'm thinking maybe the % of active ingredients is different. I thank you for your responses.

Update... Ich seems to be gone I hope! No spots since 8/2.

I have lowered the temp back to 78 degrees and my nitrates 10, nitrites 0, ammo 0 look good.

I did however, lose 3 fish The orange sword, the pineapple sword, and a neon.

All the rest of the fish look good, except one of the remaining neons seems to be losing the red stripe back by the tail fin and it seems to be buldging out slightly. I don't have a clue as to what this is, but will be watching it closely. Thanks for all the help Gary!

Intelligent people always ask questions...

Consider yourself in that category.

--garyroland.

So sorry... I misunderstood... I'm on my way to get Rid ick + Thanks

Oh, Lynn...

You haven't been reading my "stuff".

The "high heat treatment" for one week is 95 degrees with no meds if your fish are in good condition when ich is first noticed.

This is a procedure that I highly recommend for Clown Loaches because they're so intolerant of meds and can normally withstand a constant temp of 86 degrees.

Your present procedure at 86 degrees is to promote the speedup of the ich parasite cycle so that the meds can "get em" at their most vulnerable time.

--garyroland.

I'm still soooo... confused! My understanding is that if I raise the temp to 86 degrees ick will die, meds or no meds? So if I'm just adding 1/2 dose so as not to hurt the sensitve fish, why do I add meds at all. I'm soooooo confused:%) NEWBIE

Temp can be increased five degrees in 24 hours with no problems. The water surface movement must be increased to allow for a faster gas exchange when temps are increased.

However, ich meds, to be effective, must be dosed full strength.

Rid Ich Plus is widely accepted to be safe for Catfish (scaleless fish) and Tetras, among others.

Ich treatments last seven to ten days or until all spots are gone.

--garyroland.





[span class="edited"][Edited by garyroland 2004-08-01 12:12][/span]

It's day 7 and my temp has been at 86 for 3 days, and now my little otto has become the latest victim of this nasty disease. The female sword died on 7/30 and the pineapple is expected to pass shortly I have been adding 28 drops (1/2 dose) of quick cure daily and doing 25% water changes every 3rd day.

My little cories are not benefiting from these meds as act "worn" out.

Is there something I'm not doing? I'm going crazy with worry:%) Any suggestions and or advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks, Lynn

I have finally achieved 86 degrees. There seems to only be 1-2 ick on the orange sword, and none on the pineapple. The pineapple looks much better and is swimming normally again! How long do I keep the 86 degrees temp? I will dose meds today too. Thanks

I have read many other post concerning ick! I'm confused as to all the different methods and meds to use. So I was hoping that someone could help me through "MY" situation. I have a 55gal fully cycled nitrites 0 nitrates 30 ammonia 0.

I have 2 platies, 2 swords, which by the way are the only fish so far who show signs of the ick, 5 pristellas, 5 neons, 3 corys (2 are babies only 1/2" long) and 1 otto.

I would like some advice on what meds to use for my situation. I have quICK cure and I have super ick cure. Neither of these meds say I have to raise the temp, do I? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Purchase another heater and raise the temp to 86 degrees...

Once the cycle of the parasite is sped up with heat, the med should kill the buggers.

An increase of the med could also be considered.

But whatever you do, remember...it's not the parasite that kills the fish but the ensuing fungus infection that, once advanced, covers the whole fish.

Act soon. The whole tank must be treated.

--garyroland.

..I would also advise not switching meds..unless you get no improvement with using that one..

sounds like they will do ok from your post(not many spots left)but are still active in the water..keep up your med even when you see no spots at all for the duration of recommened time,and some..you want to be absolutly sure you got them all..
Cories Ive heard a sensitive to meds,and being babies makes it even harder on them I would think..
Make sure like Garyroland said: add extra surface agitation,with a couple of good size air stones,you do have a fairly big tank..

hope they are improving..

I just checked on the fish, now it seems the swordtail female that had the 2 spots this morning does not have them anymore... so that's good However, the pineapple sword male has half a dozen or more, just since this morning. He had none, but was swimming "wobbally"sp? and sticking to the surface behind the heater and the intake pipe. Is this normal to have the ick drop off during treatment only to have more show up during treatment? He is looking awfully sick, should I take him out of the main tank, or should I wait awhile longer? Thanks

Changing meds while treating for ich may prove disasterous...

Because of the possible adverse mix reaction with various med ingredients, stick to one med if it is working.

The only time a med is changed is when the results are less than satisfactory and then a 50% water change is done and a new med dosed.

I have no definite proof that some ich species may be becoming immune to some of our meds but I certainly suspect it.

Eighty-six degrees is not really a danger for tropicals. They can withstand a much higher temp for a short period of time if necessary.

Surface agitation should be increased when temps are higher to speed up gas exchange. Warmer water does not contain as much dissolved oxygen as normal temps.

--garyroland.

I have the temp up to 82 so far... I have used 2 doses of QuICK Cure ( formalin, malachite green) and there is only 1 or 2 spots, that I can see, left on 1 of the fish. I was going to dose the QuICK Cure today (1/2 dose) and do a 25% water change with a shallow vac. I tested my water and everything is still the same as before I started with the meds.

Tomorrow if no more spots, should I use super ick cure (1.9mg bezaldehyde green & povidone/colloid mixture) I don't have tri sulfa... is this rid x plus? I'm not too familiar with the meds at this point.

Thanks for your help, gary and jester!

You have to treat for ich beyond the stage when it no longer appears on the fish. Have a look at http://www.petsforum.com/novalek/kpd57.htm]http://www.petsforum.com/novalek/kpd57.htm[/link] and [link=http://fish.orbust.net/ich.html. You might find it helpful when treating to alter the medications used. Most recommend a three day treatment, then a water change, and re-treat until no signs etc etc. I suggest you change to another type of med at the three day point (from malachite green to tri-sulfur, for example), do the water change and repeat until the 10 days has passed. The rest of Gary's advice (as usual!) is (IMHO) spot on. The reason to change med's is that the ich can develop an immunity to some medications between it's life stages. If you swap the med's after the immunity is developed, there is a better chance of killing all of the little parasites.

Wow! 86 degrees... won't that take me about 10 days to accomplish since my water is 75 right now? Do you know if the cories like that temp? In the mean time I just use the meds for the recommended time, even if it's less then 10 days?

[span class="edited"][Edited by NeptunesLady 2004-07-25 13:19][/span]

Raising the temp is just an aide to speed the life cycle of the parasite along...

When that happens the med can kill them at their most vulnerable time.

Some meds may suggest a raise in temp, some may not. It's a choice for the hobbyist to make. I would suggest an increase in temp with all meds to 86 degrees.

The first sign of ich should be treated but there are times when the fish's immune system will fight off an attack, that's why you see spots on some but not on others.

The risk is too great for a massive attack so the whole tank must be treated.

--garyroland.